This study investigates the flow behaviors of the microflow in a sudden expansion microfluidic channel with a rectangular block structure. 2D and 3D numerical simulations are used to predict the vortex formation behavior and experimental approaches are adopted to confirm the simulated results. A novel microfluidic rectifier is proposed by operating the designed microfluidic device under opposite flow conditions. The performance of the flow rectifier is also evaluated under difference flow velocities. There are three parts finished in this thesis. Firstly, the vortex formation behavior is investigated for the microchannel with the block at different distances downstream the sudden expansion channel. The size of the fully developed vortices is measured and analyzed. Results show that the size of the vortex reaches stable while the distance between the block and sudden expansion channel is longer than 1000 £gm. Secondly, this study also investigates the sequence of the vortex formation under different flow velocity (Reynolds number). Results indicate that there are four stages for the vortex formation in the microfluidic channel. Vortices are formed firstly at the sudden expansion channel and then behind the block. Two small vortices are then formed once beside the block and then merge with the two big vortices behind the block under increasing velocity conditions. The flow becomes instable once the Reynolds number higher than 555, two symmetrical shedding flows are observed behind the block structure. This flow behavior is rarely observed in a microfluidic channel due to the big viscous force of the flow in the microchannel. Thirdly, this study measures the pressure drops for the forward and backward flows under different flow speeds. Results show that the vortex formation behavior in backward flow is different from it is in forward conditions. Two symmetric vortexes are formed beside the channel while the Reynolds number higher than 416. The squeezed vortices form a virtual valve structure and increase the flow resistance of the microflow, resulting in a high performance valve structure. The calculated results indicate that the diodicity (Di) of the designed microchannel is as high as 1.76 and 1.5 for the numerical result and experimental result, respectively. The rectifying performance of the developed microchip device is higher than the reported devices fabricated using delicate processes and designed. The results of this research will give valuable knowledge for the flow behavior in a microchannel and the design of microfluidic chips.

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This thesis describes the development of a new generation of three-phase rectifier, used to power telecommunications equipment. The traditional topology for such power converters is a single-phase two-stage design, with a boost converter providing power factor correction at the input to the first stage and an isolated dc-dc converter making up the second stage. A two-stage design results in the output power being processed twice and this cascade effect results in an overall reduction in efficiency. A rectifier solution is sought that meets with all the requirements of the telecommunications industry, while not displaying the inherent weaknesses associated with a boost-derived topology, and which can be realised in a single-stage design. A number of common three-phase topologies exist that could be realised as telecommunication power supplies, however, they do not completely satisfy all the industry requirements. A new three-phase rectifier, which is a single-stage buck-derived topology, is proposed. As a consequence of incorporating a buck-derived topology, the three-phase rectifier does not exhibit any issues resulting from startup inrush currents, or high currents due to an output short circuit condition, as would result in a boost-derived topology. The new proposed rectifier is modular in nature, which has the added benefit of redundancy. As a result of the new three-phase rectifier having a single-stage topology, it is expected that the overall efficiency would able to reach close to 95%. This is due to the traditional two-stage designs having efficiencies around the 90% mark, and therefore by removing a stage, out of the power conversion process the overall losses would also be halved, resulting in the 5% gain in efficiency. The rectifier system requires only one controller as a result of being a single-stage design, thus also reducing the overall system cost. Simulations show that if this topology is combined with a three-phase phase-locked loop controller it can meet the industry compliance standards. The thesis follows the development of the three-phase power converter from the simulation stage to the realisation of the control hardware and stability modelling. It also provides a detailed report of an investigation into the power converter system’s performance. The thesis concludes with discussions concerning the viability of the new topology as a commercial product and indicates areas of possible future research and development.

This dissertation covers three levels of issues and solutions dealing with unbalanced and/or nonlinear situations in power electronic systems, namely power converter level, power converter system level, and large-scale power electronics system level. At power converter level, after review of traditional PWM methods, especially two-dimensional space vector modulation schemes, three-dimensional space vector modulation schemes are proposed for four-legged voltage source converters, including inverters and rectifiers. The four-legged power converters with three-dimensional space vector modulation schemes have a better DC link voltage utilization and result in a low distortion. It is an effective solution to provide the neutral point for a three-phase four-wire system and to handle the neutral current due to unbalanced load or source and nonlinear loads. Comprehensive design guidelines for a four-legged inverter are presented. The four-legged rectifier is also presented which allows not only fault tolerant operation, but also provides the flexibility of equal resistance, equal current, or equal power operation under unbalanced source. Average large-signal models of four-legged power converters in both the a-b-c and d-q-o coordinates are derived. Small signal models are obtained in the d-q-o rotating coordinates. Voltage control loops are designed in the d-q-o coordinates for a high power utility power supply. Performance is studied under various load conditions. At the power converter system level, the load conditioner concept is proposed for high power applications. A power converter system structure is proposed which consists of a high-power low-switching frequency main inverter and a low-power high-switching frequency load conditioner. The load conditioner performs multiple functions, such as active filtering, active damping, and active decoupling with a high current control bandwidth. This hybrid approach allows the overall system to achieve high performance with high power and highly nonlinear loads. At the large-scale power electronics system level, the nonlinear loading effect of load converters is analyzed for a DC distribution system. Two solutions to the nonlinear loading effect are presented. One is to confine the nonlinear load effect with the sub-converter system, the other is to use a DC bus conditioner. The DC bus conditioner is the extension of the load conditioner concept. / Ph. D.

A constant switching frequency with the sixth-order harmonic injection PWM concept is established, and a sixth-order harmonic injection technique is developed for the harmonic reduction of a single-switch three-phase boost rectifier. The approach employs a constant duty cycle with sixth-order harmonic injection to suppress the dominant (fifth-order) harmonic in the input currents. Hence, to meet the THD<10% requirement, the rectifier voltage gain can be designed down to 1.45; to meet the IEC 1000-3-2 (A) standard, the output power can be pushed up to 10 kW for the application with a 3X220 V input and a 800 V output. The results are verified on a 6-kW prototype. The injection principle is graphically explained in current waveforms and mathematically proved. Two injection methods are proposed to meet either the THD requirement or the IEC standard. The injection implementation and design guidelines are provided. The boost inductor design and EMI filter design are discussed. An average small- signal model based on the equivalent multi-module model is developed and experimentally verified. The variations of the small-signal model against load are demonstrated, and the compensator design is discussed. The results show that at no load, the dominant pole of the control-to-output transfer function approaches the origin and causes more phase delay, making the control design difficult. To avoid the no load case and to simplify the control design, a 50-W dummy load (1% of the full load) is added. Finally, a simple nonlinear gain control circuit is presented to mitigate the load effect and reduce the dummy load to 10 W. / Master of Science

A modified space vector modulation algorithm for a zero-voltage transition three-phase voltage source inverter/boost rectifier is presented. The converter is intended for high performance medium power applications requiring bi-directional power flow. The proposed modified space vector modulation allows the main switches to be operated with constant frequency and soft switching for any phase shift between the three-phase currents and voltages. The modulation algorithm also eliminates any low frequency distortion caused by the zero-voltage transition and can be extended to other soft-switching PWM three-phase converters. Experimental verification of the proposed algorithm is also presented as well as a comparison to the hard switched PWM converter. / Master of Science

This thesis analyzes unity power factor rectifiers since this type of rectifiers use energy as efficient as possible. Throughout the thesis, some unity power factor rectifier topologies are investigated and some of them selected to investigate in detail. Afterwards, a new single transistor unity power factor rectifier topology is proposed, simulated, implemented and compared with one of the selected unity power factor rectifier topology on the basis of efficiency, total harmonic distortion, input current ripple and output voltage ripple.

Existing models describing the dynamic behavior of a six-pulse rectifier during a short-circuit fault condition are derived from switch models using time-domain average value parametric functions. Unlike these models, novel non-parametric dynamic models have been developed using analytical average-value modeling approach in this work. In this modeling approach, depending upon the number of switches conducting during a switching cycle, the operating point of the rectifier is brought into one of three modes of operation of a six-pulse rectifier. The model for each mode is represented by a differential equation. During output current calculation for the rectifier the operating model is selected based on firing angle and overlap angle functions derived in this paper. They completely characterize the dynamic behavior of current flowing through the dc inductor for a wide range of operating conditions with the exception of harmonics and asymmetrical currents which are dominant for faults occurring at the terminals of the rectifier upstream of the smoothing inductor. The results from the average value model and few other simple models have been applied for Thevenin ac source and synchronous generator supplied rectifier models to determine the characteristics of short circuit current from the rectifier. / text

O presente trabalho visa estabelecer uma metodologia alternativa para o levantamento dos principais transitórios elétricos sofridos por excitatrizes brushless, decorrentes de transitórios ocorridos na armadura do gerador principal. O método consiste no cálculo, a partir de dados de projeto, dos parâmetros que compõem os circuitos equivalentes do gerador principal e da excitatriz, seguido de simulações, em ambiente PSIM®, dos piores casos de transitórios de tensão e corrente sofridos pela armadura do gerador principal, como curtos-circuitos monofásicos, bifásicos e trifásicos, operação assíncrona do gerador principal e sincronização com defasagem entre as tensões do gerador e da rede. Em cada caso, monitoram-se as tensões e correntes resultantes nos diodos da ponte retificadora rotativa. Resultados simulados e experimentais são comparados. / This study aims to establish an alternative methodology for determining the main transients on brushless exciters due to transients in the main generator armature. The method consists in calculating, from design data, the parameters of the equivalent circuits of the main generator and the exciter, followed by simulations, with the software PSIM®, of the worst voltage and current transient cases in the main generator armature, like single-phase, dual-phase and three-phase short circuits, asynchronous running of the main generator and out of phase synchronization. In each case the currents and voltages of the rotative bridge diodes were monitored. Simulation and experimental results are compared.

Nos dias de hoje, o aumento na demanda de energia no Brasil, associado a fatores econômicos e ambientais, tem dificultado a criação de novas usinas hidrelétricas, necessárias para suprir essa demanda adicional e aumentar a confiabilidade do sistema. Nesse contexto, a geração distribuída se destaca como uma solução adequada, pois economiza investimentos em redes de transmissão e distribuição, reduz perdas e diversifica a matriz energética do sistema elétrico, tornando-o mais robusto e eficiente. Dentre as fontes de energia utilizadas em sistemas de geração distribuída, a microturbina apresenta algumas vantagens em relação a outros modelos de GD, como por exemplo, a possibilidade da utilização de vários tipos de combustíveis. Para verificar as características de operação das microturbinas, foram realizadas simulações baseadas em modelos matemáticos presentes na literatura técnica. Porém, devido às altas velocidades de rotação das turbinas a gás, a energia gerada possui frequências muito altas para ser aproveitada diretamente pelos consumidores, sendo necessária uma interface eletrônica para adequação da energia elétrica. Neste trabalho é abordado o estudo, simulação e implementação da primeira etapa desta interface, um retificador trifásico com correção de fator de potência, para a geração de um barramento de corrente contínua com tensão estável, mantendo as correntes de entrada do retificador com formato senoidal e em fase com a tensão. / Nowadays, the increase in energy demand in Brazil, associated with economic and environmental factors, has hindered the creation of new power plants needed to provide this additional demand and improve system reliability. In this context, distributed generation stands out as an appropriate solution because it saves investments in transmission and distribution, reduces losses and diversify the energy matrix of the electrical system, making it more robust and efficient. Among the energy sources used in distributed generation systems, the microturbine has some advantages over other models of GD, such as the possibility of using various types of fuel. To verify the operating characteristics of microturbines, simulations were performed based on mathematical models present in literature. However, due to high rotation speeds of gas turbines, the energy generated has very high frequencies to be used directly by consumers, which requires an electronic interface to adequate the electricity. This work describe the study, simulation and implementation of the first stage of this interface, a three-phase rectifier with power factor correction, to generate a DC bus voltage stable, keeping the rectifier input current format sinusoidal and in phase with the voltage generated by the microturbine.